What Was and Will Always Be
by SilverWings741
Summary: They were known as 'Neji and Tenten'. Not ever one without the other.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N – Hey, everyone! As you can tell I've begun a new NejiTen story and I'm so excited to show you my first chapter! I know a lot of you are waiting for me to finish my other fic 'The Laws of Logic', but I'm currently suffering from writer's block. But don't dismay! I promise to finish it one day. But for now, sit back, relax and enjoy my latest story!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto!**_

-X-

Neji Hyuga was destined to do great things.

Tenten had known that from the first moment she'd laid eyes on him in their early academy days. Being only eight years old, she was unfamiliar with the intricacies of the noble families within Konoha, however there was one clan more distinguishably murmured about by the townsfolk than all the rest – the Hyuga clan.

She knew that they were one of the oldest families in the Leaf Village and that they were famously known for their strange white-silver eyes. Tenten could vividly recall her first meeting with a Hyuga, for it had been with none other than Neji.

It was their first day at the academy. Back when Tenten still wore ribbons in her hair and had fun doing girly things. The whole class was outside, running around and playing ninja as they waited to be called into class. Yet, the tiny brunette noticed one boy sitting alone on a bench, away from the rest. He had dark hair – easily longer than her own – tied in the middle on his back, he wore a strip of black cloth around his forehead and he was staring out into nothing with a mildly bored, yet calm expression.

She had approached the boy, not wanting him to feel excluded, with a cheery smile and a skip in her step. He didn't even bother to look up when she stopped right in front of him.

"Hi, my name is Tenten!" she said giving him a toothy grin. "What's yours?"

He didn't reply. Didn't even give the slightest indication that he knew he was being spoken to and continued to gaze into nothingness. However, that didn't deter Tenten from trying again.

"You're not gonna have much fun sitting here all alone. We're all playing ninja. You should come and join us!"

She extended her arm as a gesture of friendliness, hoping the boy would accept her offer. However, as she leant down to rest her hand on his shoulder, he sharply turned around, his eyes finding hers with a fixed glare. It wasn't the coldness of his expression that made Tenten retract her hand, but rather the majesty of his eyes.

They were breathtakingly beautiful – like pools of liquid ivory, tinged with lavender. A purplish light danced around in the depths of where his pupils should've been, almost like a small flickering fire. Now that he was facing her, she could also see the other features that adorned his face; perfect, unblemished, fair skin, a straight-edged nose, flawlessly angled eyebrows, high cheekbones and a sharp jawline.

Tenten had never taken too much interest or notice in boys, yet even she couldn't deny that the boy sitting in front of her glaring so intently, was fairly attractive, even for an eight year old. It was in that moment that little Tenten realised that she was staring at a Hyuga for the first time.

And he did not look happy.

But before she could open her mouth to say anything else, a bell began ringing throughout the courtyard and everyone started to rush inside, excited to commence their first day. The boy stood up in a dignified manner (Tenten noticed he was a few inches taller than she was) and strode past her without so much as a second glance or word her way. She blinked a few times before stumbling after him and the rest of her classmates. She noted that she didn't catch his first name, but she didn't have to wait long to find out.

-X-

"Neji Hyuga."

That was his name as their new sensei began rattling off down his list for rollcall. Everyone, apart from Tenten had exploded into excited whispers and murmurs. Heads turned, necks craned, and eyes darted towards the back left corner of the classroom as everyone tried to steal glances at the boy who sat pensively at his desk, ignoring the admiring gazes from his classmates and the simpering giggles that came from a bunch of gaggling girls. Even their new sensei had raised an inquisitive eyebrow and seized a quick glimpse of Neji before continuing down the roll.

He was a Hyuga after all, and everyone expected great things from him. And he certainly lived up to expectations.

Despite his dark, sombre and unsociable personality, people were instantly drawn to him – children and adults alike. He was a skilled fighter, even at such a young age, and many of the academy instructors were left gobsmacked at Neji's natural talent and his ability to already have mastered his clans dojutsu to such an extent. He was remarkably intelligent, absorbing information like a sponge, and it was only a matter of time before he began topping every class they took.

He'd amassed a loyal and dedicated fan club after his very first day which only increased as the years went by. Tenten wasn't an avid devotee unlike the majority of the girls in her class who gushed endlessly about his charming looks and brooding nature. Instead, she admired him from afar, commending his hard work ethic and fierce determination. Besides his grandiose and condescending attitude, she wanted to be just like him.

Neji never spoke to her. Especially after their awkward first encounter, Tenten learnt quickly that the white-eyed boy preferred the company of his own solitude. He didn't speak unless civil necessity demanded it, and he regarded anyone below his level superfluous.

Nonetheless, Tenten could barely contain her excitement the day they made the announcement for the new Genin teams. For it would be that years number one rookie, Neji, the strange, Taijutsu wielding fanatic, Lee and herself that would be under the tutelage of Maito Gai for the next few years of their lives. Tenten received many death stares and hateful comments that day from the other girls who claimed she had "stolen their precious Neji" away from them. She didn't mind though. She was just ecstatic to finally be recognised as a full-fledged shinobi and to be working alongside the great Neji Hyuga.

-X-

Tenten had finally found her family in the form of Team Gai. Growing up as an orphan, she'd never really experienced what it was like to have familial bonds. Gai had become almost like a father to her, Lee, he was like the little brother she always wanted and Neji…well their relationship was always a difficult one.

The first Chunin Exams they undertook was a humbling experience for all of them, especially Neji. After her spectacular loss to Temari, Tenten doubted that the Hyuga prodigy would ever want to speak to her again. So, it confounded her when he appeared at the hospital the very next day and personally asked her to help him train for the upcoming finals. All the other Genin were utilising their Jounin sensei or a family member of the same rank to help them train, and there was Neji, asking his female teammate who had lost her own match, nonetheless, to assist him.

Tenten was so overwhelmed with gratitude that she automatically agreed, not stopping to ponder the fact that maybe he was just using her for his own personal gain. But at that moment, Tenten didn't care. It showed that he trusted her abilities and though neither of them knew it, but in that moment, they had become friends.

As promised, the brunette aided Neji in perfecting the Kaiten – one of the Hyuga clans most sacred techniques and they began training gruellingly every day from sunrise to sundown. They found that their techniques worked well against each other and that they actually enjoyed each other's company in comparison to the alternative option of hanging out with Lee and Gai on their own. And, so even after the finals had come around, they continued to spar together, and it became an unspoken daily practice as well as a symbol of their friendship.

And as the years followed, they became known as 'Neji and Tenten'. Not ever one without the other. They were best friends and for a while, many rumours circulated around the village that they were secretly dating. And for some time, Tenten wished those rumours were true.

She had always admired him from when she was young and now those feelings of admiration were evolving into something stronger and very much unwanted and the fact that he kept becoming even more appealing with age, didn't help either. The weapons mistress didn't want to put any unnecessary emotions on their already fragile relationship. Besides, Neji was completely out of her league – he was a genius, a prodigy with a prestigious clan tied to his name, whereas she was an orphan with no last name who was just fortunate when fate decided place them on a team together.

Tenten knew she wasn't in the least bit worthy to be considered as a romantic prospect in Neji's eyes, so she diffused the rumours around the village and composedly told anyone who asked whether they were dating that they were only friends and that she would never be deserving of his greatness.

The second Chunin Exams saw Neji propel himself even further ahead of his two teammates, the distance between her and Neji's capabilities becoming even more apparent.

Herself and Lee had both been promoted to Chunin. They were both elated for it was a giant milestone they had worked so zealously to overcome. But it was Neji that surprised them all with his double promotion to Jounin.

He was completely deserving of it after his spectacular rescue of the Kazakage and Fu and Tenten couldn't have been any happier for him. She and Lee both offered their congratulations to which Neji thanked them earnestly. As the Hyuga prodigy met her eyes, she could see the fire and the pride burning within them.

As Lee ranted on about how their teamwork had gotten them this far, Tenten found herself saying, "Yeah, for sure. Our three man squad if forever, right?"

"Yes, I hope so," Neji replied with an unreadable expression.

They had all smiled and Gai had treated them all to dinner that night, eyes full of tears with loud proclamations of how proud he was of all his three students and, of course, the burning power of youth. Little did they all know that after that day, Team Gai would irrevocably change forever.

-X-

"Check."

Tenten's eyes narrowed as she scanned the little chess pieces that littered the board. She swiftly glanced up her opponent to quickly read his expression before flickering her eyes back down to the game. Her fingers gently touching each of her remaining pieces left on the board, her opponents' pieces far outweighing her own. She tapped her nails idly on the table as she analysed her situation.

A small smirk graced her lips as she knocked her competitors' white bishop over with her black night.

"Check," her voice rang clearly through the still air.

The man lying across from her, shoeless, with his elbow propping his head up, merely yawned before moving his queen across the board with deft fingers and supplanted it right next to Tenten's king.

"Checkmate."

"Dammit!" Tenten groaned as she threw her hands up in defeat. "I thought for sure I was going to win this time!"

"You moved far too hastily," the man replied before rolling leisurely onto his back. "I don't know why you keep bugging me to play with you when you know you're just going to lose every time."

The weapons mistress made an unpleasant face before a mischievous glint shone in her eyes. With a quick, powerful flip of her wrist, the chessboard and all of its pieces went flying and conveniently smacked the unsuspecting man hard in the face.

"Damn it, Tenten!" Shikamaru growled as he sat up in annoyance, brushing the little pieces off his torso and tossing the board a few feet away from them. "What was that for?"

Tenten laughed wholeheartedly, replying, "That was for being a jerk."

He murmured to himself and the brunette swore she caught the phrase "troublesome woman" which made her grin widen.

One of the more unforeseeable things that had changed over the years was her friendship with Shikamaru. They were now at the impressionable age of twenty years old and through a twist of fate, they had found themselves living together.

They'd been assigned a mission and Tenten had been injured quite badly due to a miscalculation that Shikamaru had made. Almost having lost her life and her career as a kunoichi, Tenten had to spend months in hospital in order to recuperate. And once she was released, she was still incapacitated for quite sometime which meant no missions. And no missions meant no money. And no money meant that she could not afford to pay her rent and soon enough, she was evicted.

Shikamaru had offered her to stay at his place, feeling mainly responsible and guilty for the situation the weapons mistress found herself in. They weren't particularly close, and it was only supposed to be temporary until Tenten could afford to rent another place, but somehow, they had managed to worm their way intricately into each other's lives and Tenten just never left.

They were only eighteen at the time and of course once word began circulating around the village that Konoha's top analytical strategist and Konoha's top weapons mistress were living together, a whole lot of gossip came with it.

Shikamaru and Temari had just suffered a rough breakup, due to the fact that neither one wanted to leave their village to be with one another. It was a back and forth war and eventually Temari had ended it, leaving the Nara prodigy in a state of sombreness. Many rumours circulated that they were dating, some speculated that Shikamaru was using her as a rebound, but their relationship was mainly platonic – consisting of teasing, support and acceptance for who the other person was. It was a friendship born through mistakes, loneliness and hard work.

It was one of the only good things in Tenten's life that had come from the past few years after Team Gai had disbanded.

And now, as fate would have it, they were both sitting on the living room floor of Shikamaru's apartment, Tenten in nothing but an oversized T-shirt that did nothing but expose her long slender legs, and Shikamaru sporting just a pair of baggy sweatpants. This situation would've been unthinkable two years ago.

He suddenly stood and stretched his arms over his head, contorting the muscles beautifully in his chest and shoulders. One of the first things Tenten had learnt about the pineapple-haired boy was that he definitely wasn't as scrawny as she imagined him to be.

"Go put on a shirt, you show off," Tenten rolled her eyes as she proceeded to get up.

"I would if I had any left to wear," he replied eyeing the shirt she was wearing and Tenten pouted.

"But your shirts are so much comfier to sleep in than mine."

"Besides the point, I would have shirts to wear if you had done the washing yesterday like I asked you to."

"You do realise that I'm not your slave and that you're perfectly capable of doing your own washing."

"Yes, but I'm letting you live here. Plus, you're a woman, you're supposed to do jobs like that."

Tenten let out a low growl at his comment before attempting to whack him across the head which he easily sidestepped.

"Don't pull that sexist bullshit on me," she said. "Besides, you're the one who's wearing my sweatpants!"

"Only because you wear mine too," Shikamaru retorted smoothly. "And you said these ones don't fit you anymore and why waste a perfectly good pair of pants."

"But they look better on you than they do on me!"

"Everything looks better on me than it does on you," he simply pointed out as he began gathering up the chess pieces scattered all over the floor before meticulously putting them back in the box and stashing it on the shelf. "Also, you lost so you should've been the one to clean this mess. Now you owe me."

Tenten folded her arms and attempted to give him her cutest pout with wide puppy eyes in hopes to pacify him. However, the Nara prodigy remained unfazed.

"A deal's a deal, Tenten."

The brunettes face morphed into a disappointed frown as she squeezed her crossed arms even tighter.

"Fine. What'll it be this time?"

"Shower privileges," Shikamaru smirked and Tenten grumbled in protest.

"No fair! You always use up all the hot water," she whined pointing an accusing finer at his chest.

Shikamaru just shrugged, making his way towards the staircase before replying, "Then you should learn to get better at chess. Enjoy your cold shower."

He managed to give her one last smug look before a barrage of pillows came hurling his way as he ran up the stairs, locking himself in the bathroom to escape the fury of the woman down below.

-X-

"You're such an ass, you know that?" Tenten expressed as she entered the kitchen.

She was now clad in usual attire, and her hair was twisted up into her two signature buns atop of her head.

Shikamaru remained impassive at her insult as he sat at the kitchen table, a cup of tea in one hand, a cigarette in the other. She pulled a mug out of the cupboard before proceeding to sit across from him, dragging the teapot across the table and filling her cup with its steaming contents.

"Can you not smoke inside the house?" Tenten scrunched her nose disdainfully, waving her hand to dissipate the smoke that was filling the space.

"My house, my rules," Shikamaru asserted before pointedly blowing a cloud of smoke in her face.

"At least open a window," she managed between coughs.

She got up and walked over to the kitchen sink and unlatched the window that was directly above it. All at once, the stench of the tobacco began wafting out into the fresh, winter air.

"That's better," Tenten wheezed before sitting back down and taking a sip from her cup. "I still can't understand why you still insist on smoking those things."

The Nara prodigy simply shrugged.

"They were from Asuma Sensei. Might as well use them."

"Well," Tenten began with a heavy sigh, "At least you've got something to remember your team by."

"You could too if you just swallowed your pride and talked to him."

Tenten could feel her jaw clench and her eyes narrow at Shikamaru's statement.

Team Gai had disbanded years ago. It wasn't sudden, but more so like a piece of string that had been stretched out too far before it decided to snap. While it was common for most teams to break up at some point or another, no one had ever thought that Team Gai would be one of them. They were known as the greatest Taijutsu squad to have emerged from the Leaf Village, and above all else, they were a family. Tenten still managed to see Lee and Gai on occasion, joining them for lunches or just conversing idly. It was Neji who seemed to withdraw himself from the equation that was Team Gai.

Nothing seemed to change much after his promotion to Jounin, he still managed to spar with her and join in on team gatherings. But soon enough, he was being sent out on mission after mission, either on his own or with another squad for weeks or even months at a time.

Tenten and Lee had all understood. It was to be expected of course – becoming a Jounin was no walk in the park and though it saddened them to able to see their teammate very scarcely, they understood that he had a duty to carry out. Hell, even they were more often than not scrambled up into different teams and sent on their merry way. They barely saw him that first year. And although Tenten had hoped that their friendship would be able to stand against the test of time, it seemed that Neji thought otherwise. In the very few rare moments that he had free time, he seldom spent it with his teammates.

Tenten and Lee had confronted him about it and demanded to know why he couldn't find the spare time to see them anymore. It was meant to be a civil dispute, but Tenten's emotions had gotten the better of her. She had felt abandoned, cast away and thrown aside by her supposedly best friend. Accusations and insults got whirled around like kunai being recklessly hurled through the air. And Neji who very rarely ever lost his composure, finally cracked.

He yelled at them – blamed them for their own incompetence for not getting stronger and arising through the ranks like he had. He had goals and dreams to achieve, and they couldn't be met if he spent every waking moment of his time wasting it on his teammates who couldn't understand that in order to become stronger, he needed to be alone.

Tenten almost lost it as Lee had to hold her back from physically hurting Neji. She was on the verge of tears as she screamed at him.

"Does Team Gai mean so little to you?" she spat acidly, her eyes never leaving his – she felt as if her heart was caving in. "After all we've been through, you think that it's ok to just toss us aside like we mean nothing, you heartless bastard!"

_Do I mean nothing to you? Am I really just that convenient? _

Gai had to intervene before it became a full on fist fight. He had heard the commotion and broken it up. He had scolded all three of them, saying he was ashamed at the display of their 'unyouthful behaviour'. Neji didn't bother to stay and hear the rest. He swiftly and unapologetically stormed off down the hill and out of their former training grounds without a single word. And it was in that moment that Team Gai had formally ended.

It had been nearly three years since then and now the most Tenten ever saw of the Hyuga prodigy was when she would answer to the Hokage's office and she'd glimpse him reporting back from a mission. If they crossed each other in the street, Tenten deliberately made the effort to walk over to the other side of the road. They never spoke, never gave any sort of indication that they were once good friends and teammates. She thought she was over the child-like crush that she once had, but the pain and hurt still remained as she knew that she would never, ever be worthy of him.

"Well?"

Shikamaru's voice sliced through her reverie and Tenten exhaled a breath she didn't even realise she was holding.

"You know I can't do that, Shikamaru," she told him, leaning her body weight into the back of the chair. "He was the one that decided to leave us, he should be the one to put things right."

"You know he'll never make the first move."

"Then I suppose we will just have to stay this way then," the weapons mistress attempted to shrug her shoulders as unperturbed as possible.

"You miss him," Shikamaru stated.

Tenten blinked at him before responding, "Of course I do. He's my friend and teammate."

Shikamaru shook his head slightly before trying, "You love him."

When she didn't reply, he simply took another puff of his cigarette and waited for her response.

"What do you think I should do?" she sounded defeated.

"Like I said, try reaching out to him," he told her before crushing the butt of the cigarette on the table. "Neji's never been much of a talker, so you can't just expect him to suddenly start talking to you out of the blue. He's proud and stubborn, so sometimes he needs a little nudge in the right direction. Stop avoiding him whenever you come into contact. He probably sees you crossing the road and takes it as an indication that you're not willing to patch things up, so he doesn't bother. You've just got to find a way to engage him in some sort of civil conversation and it should be smooth sailing from there."

"But what if he doesn't want to become reacquainted?" Tenten murmured, her fingers curled tightly around her mug.

"Then I suppose you're no worse off than what you are now. You're not talking anyway so the worst that could happen is that he'll keep not talking to you."

Tenten pulled a face as she tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

"Why do you have to be so damn logical?" she asked him tiredly.

"To make women angry," he replied simply. "You know I'm not good at comforting people. You talk to me because you want honesty."

"That's true," Tenten conceded. "Still, I don't know if the rejection of him not talking to me is worth it."

"Then that's a decision that you have to make."

They fell into a small silence, no noise apart from the occasional sipping of tea and the slight breeze whistling through the kitchen.

"I suppose we're just two lonely souls, huh?" Tenten said, breaking the pleasant calm.

Shikamaru stood, draining the last dregs of his tea before shoving his hands in his pockets and answering, "I suppose we are. Now if you'll excuse me, this lonely soul has to report to the Hokage."

And with that, he grabbed his flak jacket off the lounge and made his way to the front door. He turned to her with his usual expression and said, "Make sure to have lunch ready for when I get home."

Tenten just rolled her eyes and responded, "Go do something productive, you lazy-ass."

And with that he closed the door behind him with a soft 'shush'.

-X-

_**A/N – This took me so long to write! I know the beginning is quite slow, but I assure you that they'll be plenty of NejiTen-ness to come! How are we all feeling of Shikamaru's and Tenten's relationship? Personally, I love it and I'm so excited to explore their relationship together. Please review and let me know your thoughts. Love my avid fans, always!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N – Ok here is the second chapter for this story. I have so many ideas for this and I'm very excited to see where this thing lands. I hope you enjoy and thank you to all my avid readers and fans out there! I couldn't do what I do without you!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto!**_

-X-

Tenten stood over the stove, a ladle in one hand and a salt-shaker in the other. She softly hummed to herself as she stirred the brew that was bubbling away in front of her, steam rising in swirling spirals before quickly evaporating into the air. The scent of beef stew wafted through the kitchen and filled the entire house with a sense of security and comfort. She wasn't a bad cook – being left alone at such an early age, Tenten had to learn to fend for herself. Plus, take out was expensive and she wasn't particularly wealthy, so home cooked meals worked best.

A soft 'click' from the lock at the front door made Tenten's head snap up as Shikamaru entered the house, cheeks flushed pink from the early winter chill.

"So, how did it go?" the weapons mistress inquired, raising an amused eyebrow when he slammed the door shut none too gently.

He dropped himself wearily onto the couch and a small groan escaped his mouth as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"Not good?" Tenten tried again when he didn't reply.

She grabbed a pair of fluffy oven mitts, carefully lifted the pot that had been cooking on the stove and set it gingerly on the kitchen bench before grabbing two bowls and ladling the thick stew into each of them.

"Well, if you're not going to talk, you might as well eat," she said, carrying the two bowls over to the dining table.

"Why does life have to hate me?" the Nara prodigy moaned in frustration, unmoving from his current position.

"Life can't hate you that much. I just made you lunch _and_ brought it over for you," Tenten settled with a small grin forming on her lips at Shikamaru's obvious disgruntlement. "I'd say you've got it pretty good."

"Oh yeah?" he countered disparagingly, pulling out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket.

He unfolded it, pushed himself up from the couch and shoved it in Tenten's face. He sat down and picked up his spoon, slurping the piping contents into his mouth as he gave Tenten a moment to read the first few lines. Her features began to relax into a sly smile and after a few seconds she gently laid the paper back down on the table and began stirring her food.

"It's hard to feel sympathy for you," she told him, "all things considered…"

He pointedly ignored her comment and said, "Why do they have to come now, of all times?"

"Well, the paper mentions only the Kazekage will be coming –"

"You know that means _all_ of them, Tenten," the shadow user cut across her knowingly. "Since when does Gaara travel anywhere without his siblings."

"Well, I don't know why you're making such a huge fuss about it," Tenten said between slurps. "If anything, it'll be good for you to finally see Temari. How long has it been since you guys last talked – like two years?"

"And what a blissful two years those have been."

"Liar," the weapons mistress countered instantly. "She's the only woman for you and you know it."

"Obviously not, since she broke up with me."

"Well who's at fault there?"

"We're not going over this again."

"Fine, but if _one_ of you had just swallowed your stupid pride, Temari might be living in your house instead of me right now or you might be comfortably be living in Suna," Tenten remarked pointedly.

"I get the feeling that you're still insinuating this to be all my fault," Shikamaru said as he noticed her pertinent glare.

Tenten hesitated before her lips curved into a smug smile.

"I _was_ going to say that you're the man and that you should've just sucked it up and moved to Suna, but then again, Temari was really the one that wore the pants in the relationship."

The Nara prodigy raised an entertained eyebrow before responding, "I would've thought you of all people would have the least reason to doubt my masculinity."

He watched amusedly as her face turned a bright shade of red at his previous comment and she waved her arms frantically in order to hide her rising embarrassment.

"Ugh…please, don't remind me," the bun-haired girl mumbled through her fingers.

"Was I really that bad?" Shikamaru asked giving her a mock offended look.

"Ok, ok, ok, next topic!" Tenten said hastily through a mouthful of food.

Shikamaru let out a low chuckle before turning back to his meal.

"In any case, at least I don't have to be their escort this time," he commented. "I can just hide away and pretend that I'm not here."

"You are such a coward sometimes," the brunette shook her head with a sigh before continuing, "Do you know who their escort is going to be? Anyone we know?"

But before Shikamaru could open his mouth to answer, a sharp knock came from the door.

"I'll get it," Tenten volunteered, jumping up from her seat.

She opened the door and couldn't help but wince at the chilliness that suddenly breezed into the house. A man stood on the doorstep wrapped in layers of clothes.

"Tenten," he addressed her.

"That's me," the weapons mistress nodded.

"The Fifth Hokage has requested to see you in her office as soon as possible," he recited.

"Thanks, let Lady Tsunade know I'll be there as quick as I can."

The man gave a small bow before swiftly disappearing and Tenten turned back inside.

"Well," she sighed heavily before shrugging on a large jacket, "Duty calls."

Shikamaru only gave her a blank stare, head cocked to one side as he watched her get ready to leave.

"What's that look for?" Tenten demanded, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

"Nothing," he replied smoothly before returning to his meal. "See you when you get back."

A feeling of uncertainty began to nag at her, however Tenten pushed it to the back of her mind before saying, "Well don't go eating all the food, we'll have the rest for dinner. Be a darling and put it in the fridge when you're finished."

He waved a lazy hand at her as an indication to leave.

"Yeah, yeah…"

The brunette simply rolled her eyes before dashing out of the house and into the cold. As soon as the door closed the shadow user let out an amused chuckle to himself and murmured, "Good luck."

-X-

Tenten had arrived a few minutes early and now she was patiently waiting in the Hokage's office for the arrival of her supposed teammate for the mission. She relished in the warmth of the office, for December had brought about an early spell of bitter chill that the likes of Konoha had not seen in many years. The skies were now a stormy grey instead of its bright blue – she supposed it would snow very soon.

Nostalgia flooded her thoughts as Tenten gazed around the room. The only sounds she could hear was the shuffling of papers that Shizune was rifling through and the tapping of the long, red-painted nails against the wooden desk as Tsunade frowned at report that lay in front of her. In over the seven years she had been visiting this office, nothing much had changed except for the fact that instead of waiting for her former teammates of Team Gai to arrive, she was awaiting someone else.

It was usually herself and Neji that arrived first, exchanging small talk – mainly consisting of them chiding Lee and Gai sensei's tardiness. Ten minutes later, the two green-clad, spandex wearing men would burst into the room with cries of apologies for being late and declarations of youth over whatever crazy training regime they had managed to accomplish to which Tenten just rolled her eyes and Neji scoffed in disregard. It was the routine they lived by and it was just one of the things that made them inexplicably Team Gai.

The click of the doorknob and the scuffle of feet snapped Tenten out of her reverie and she saw Tsunade's head shoot up to see who had just entered the room.

"Ah, you got my message," the blonde woman said as she lounged back on her chair, "Come in, Neji."

Tenten swore her heart stopped beating.

_Neji? What in the _hell_ is Neji Hyuga doing here? He's an ANBU now – ANBU's don't take missions outside of their division._

All at once she could feel her head spinning in confusion, cold shivers running up and down her spine and her palms were clammy, clenched into tight fists, and she hadn't even turned around to face him yet. It had been nearly three years since she last saw him properly and even longer since they'd held a civil conversation together. And the fact that he was standing right behind her after they'd left on such bad terms didn't help the panic that began to arise in Tenten's chest. She was in fight or flight mode and she felt ashamed – this wasn't some enemy ninja or life or death situation she was facing, it was just her former teammate for Christ's sake.

The weapons mistress drew in a deep breath and took a moment to compose herself before slowly turning around.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of him.

She had forgotten just how quite good looking he was and although Neji had always been appealingly handsome, now he was just unfairly and devastatingly gorgeous. His eyes were more piercing and intimidating than Tenten remembered – the kind of eyes that could strike fear into anyone with just a single glance. He had grown considerably and was now at a least a good head taller than she was. The most noticeable change, however, was how much he had filled out. The Hyuga prodigy still had his lean build but the gruelling missions and training with the Anbu saw Neji's body transform into something exquisitely divine. His rather tight fitting clothes showed off the rippling muscles that hid underneath with the slightest movement. His shoulders were strong and broad, and his jawline was even sharper and more rigid than before. He definitely looked older, more mature – no longer boyish but now a man.

Neji's eyes found hers and if he was at all surprised to see her, he didn't show it. He made his way across the room and supplanted himself beside her without a word. Tenten couldn't help but notice that he'd purposely put a decent amount of space between them. And even though the brunette cherished the fond memories she and the white-eyed prodigy once had, the anger, resentment and hurt was all still there. She decided that she hated that good-looking face of his.

"Right, let's get down to it," Tsunade asserted in an attempt to diffuse the rising tension in the room. "We just received word from the Hidden Sand that the Kazekage will be travelling to the Hidden Cloud to discuss treaty negotiations over the next couple of weeks. However, Gaara has decided to stop in Konoha for a few days over the Christmas period during his journey. So naturally, while he and his siblings are staying with us, you two will be their convoys."

Tenten felt her jaw clench tightly and she almost cursed out loud.

_Damn that Shikamaru! _she thought inwardly as she remembered back to those odd looks he was giving her before she left. _He knew. Of course he did._ Tenten made a mental note to kick his ass when she got home.

A million emotions and unanswered questions swirled around inside the weapons mistress and before she could stop herself, Tenten found herself blurting out, "But why choose us?"

Her voice wavered slightly on the last word and she wondered if Neji had noticed. But before she could look at him to see his reaction, Tsunade sighed, "Well originally Shikamaru was supposed to take this mission."

Tenten's eyebrow twitched.

"However, he came up with some very good points and suggested that yourself and Neji would make a much better team instead," the older woman continued. "After all, you two both saved his life all those years back in the Chunin Exams. I'm sure Lord Gaara will be confident in your abilities to watch over him during his stay here."

Scratch what she said earlier – Tenten was going to _KILL_ Shikamaru when she got home – painfully, slowly and without any remorse whatsoever. The brunette was so angry she didn't realise she'd audibly ground her teeth together in an attempt to control herself from bursting on the spot.

She could practically _feel_ Neji's eyes boring into her. But at that moment she was too busy thinking of innovative ways to murder Shikamaru to care about much else.

"Is everything ok?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes in apprehension at the girls' livid expression.

Tenten quickly shook her head and hastily replied in a voice way too high, "Everything's fine!"

"Good," the Hokage nodded and she continued detailing the mission. "Gaara and his siblings will be arriving in three days from now. You are to greet them at the front gates once they arrive and you must accompany them at all times unless you are dismissed. I'm hopeful nothing bad should happen but you can never be too careful. Even though it's Christmas, we can't afford to let out guard down. That is all."

Both Neji and Tenten gave a low bow at her dismissal before swiftly and silently leaving the room. As soon as she was outside, the bun-haired girl stormed off, swearing under her breath at the predicament she now found herself in. Tenten was so caught up in her thoughts that she forgot that half the reason of why she was so angry was following closely behind.

It wasn't until they were outside and facing the cold that she heard, "You seem angry."

Tenten whipped around in surprise at the sound of his voice. At least that hadn't changed – despite his monotone resonance, it was still such a pleasant sound to hear; rich, baritone, melting velvetiness. After not hearing his voice for so long, she found herself craving to hear it.

_Wait. What? _

Tenten mentally slapped herself. She did _not_ crave the sound of his voice; she was still mad at him. She was mad at Shikamaru. Hell, she was mad at the entire situation and she felt the irresistible urge to punch something (or someone). So, she turned her anger into something productive and rounded on her former teammate.

"Really, Neji?" she hissed venomously. "Really? After all this time, _that's_ all you've got to say to me? _I seem angry?_ Geez, I wonder why."

Ok, so she wasn't being completely fair. Sure, she was furious, and he was 80% of the problem but Tenten just couldn't help herself. The shock of seeing him without even so much as a warning wasn't going to wear off any time soon. This wasn't how she imagined their first encounter to be like.

Neji just stood there – expression blank, arms folded. His lack of reply only made the weapons mistress even more vehement.

"You know," she began, voice now raised, "maybe an apology after everything that's happened would be nice! Even a, '_hey, Tenten, good to see you. Sorry for abandoning Team Gai and refusing to talk to any of you for three years', _would suffice. Maybe a little remorse for ripping apart our team and breaking Gai sensei's and Lee's heart!"

_And mine_, she wanted to say but refrained from doing so and continued, "Just maybe even some sort of emotion other than that stupid, blank look on your face! Something to show that maybe you once actually _cared_ about us. Oh, but then again who am I talking to? Of course, Neji Hyuga who doesn't give a single fuck about anyone but himself! Neji Hyuga who has goals and dreams and can't waste any of his time on his teammates who will just drag him down."

She was throwing his words back at his face, the words that had officially ended Team Gai and her and Neji's friendship. She should've stopped, should've taken a moment to breathe deeply and calm down but she was on a roll.

"You know what? I'm done. I don't care anymore. You know why? Because you're not worth it. You're never going to change. I bet you don't even think that any of this is your fault. Well, screw you Neji Hyuga. You're just a heartless, selfish bastard who's going to grow old and die alone."

Silence.

Tenten wondered if she had gone too far. She braced herself for the wrath she was sure to follow but all she was met with was a smirk and the words, "Are you done?"

Tenten let out a deep breath she didn't even know she was holding. She felt deflated and tired. She had said everything that needed to be said. All the feelings and thoughts that she had bottled up for years, and now that everything had been finally released, she felt better, lighter.

"I'm done," the bun-haired girl conceded huffily before turning on her heel and walking down the street.

However, she didn't get too far before a hand spun her around as Neji forced her to face him.

"So, you expect me to just let you insult me and walk away without me having to say anything about it?" he asked her, indignance clear in his voice.

"What do you want from me, Neji?" Tenten demanded as she shook of his hand, her skin burning at where he had touched her.

"Some maturity," he replied seriously and Tenten could only laugh mockingly.

"_Some maturity_? Piss off, Neji."

"I've never known you to use such vulgar language, Tenten," the white-eyed prodigy remarked hostilely, and she winced ever so slightly at the way he had said her name.

"Well, a lot of things have changed, haven't they?" she said. "You'd know if you had made an effort to reconnect with us."

He was frowning now and Tenten couldn't help the small smirk that began to creep onto her features at the sight of his expression.

"If I recall correctly, I didn't see you or Lee make an effort to reconnect with me either," he countered.

"What, you actually expected us to make the effort to talk to you after you were the one who decided to leave the team?" Tenten asked incredulously.

"It's not my fault that –"

"Right. Cause nothing is ever Neji Hyuga's fault."

He scowled unpleasantly (however no look could ever be unattractive on Neji's face) and stalked past her with indignation.

Tenten wanted to slap herself right in the face. Wasn't this supposed to be her chance to mend things with Neji not make him angrier? Did she really want him to go back hating her more than he already did? At the very least, she didn't want to be stuck on a mission with an angry Neji whilst trying to babysit the Kazekage. So she ran after him and yelled, "Neji, wait!"

When she had finally caught up to him, the Hyuga-prodigy turned around and growled, "What?"

The weapons mistress inhaled sharply before answering, "Look, I'm sorry. I've said some things that I shouldn't have. Things aren't going to magically change overnight. We can't go back to the way things were before all this, so let's just forget about it. At the very least, for the sake of the mission."

She tried to sound earnest. But in all honesty, her legs were shaking with fear. She was completely petrified. What if he wanted nothing to do with her after everything she had said? What if he preferred to not be acquainted? After all, he had survived quite easily without her for three years. But as soon as she stared into his silver-pearl like eyes, all the tension seemed to dissipate from her body.

"Fine," he replied curtly and Tenten gave him a genuine smile.

He didn't smile back but his shoulders relaxed considerably, and he didn't look so angry anymore and that was all the brunette could ask for.

He began walking again and Tenten fell into sync with his steps in awkward silence. They weren't exactly friends again and though Tenten knew that Neji preferred the silence, it just didn't feel right. She felt as though he was a stranger to her and for all she knew, he probably felt the same way about her. So in an attempt to diffuse the awkwardness, she found herself asking, "So why have you been assigned this mission? Last I heard you were a captain in the ANBU now."

He raised a neat eyebrow at her enquiry.

"Lord Hiashi and the elders of my clan believe it is time for me to…settle down and take my place as one of the leaders of the clan," he replied after a moment of consideration. "They are trying to secure a suitable candidate to become my wife, so while they get preparations underway, I will no longer be serving as an ANBU captain."

Tenten's eyes widened and she could feel her eyebrows rising towards her hairline. There was a slight tug on her heartstrings at the word 'wife' but she pushed it to the back of her mind.

"I didn't realise your clan still held practices like that," she said. "But congratulations on finally becoming one of the clans' leaders. I know Hinata and your uncle worked really hard in abolishing the side branch. That was one of your dreams, wasn't it?"

"It was, thank you," he replied sincerely, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "It's been one of the good things to have happened over the years."

Tenten stared thinkingly into the distance before saying, "Wow…you're getting married. I can't believe it."

"At some point I will be," he murmured disgruntledly, obviously displeased by the fact.

"You don't sound too happy about it."

"It's one of the reasons that often makes me question if it's worth it."

"But if the side branch doesn't exist anymore," Tenten pondered, "aren't you free to choose your own wife and in your own time?"

"Choosing wives has always been a long standing tradition within the Hyuga clan. It's never been reserved for just one side of the family." Neji explained dully.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It is what it is. It's just another one of the freedoms that will be taken away from me."

They came to a halt at a fork in the road and Tenten turned to face her teammate.

"I suppose I should head home," she told him. "I guess I'll see you when Gaara gets here."

She gave him a small wave before setting off down one of the streets, but she had barely taken five steps she heard, "Where are you going?"

She spun around to see Neji standing in the same spot, staring at her with a slightly confused expression.

"I said I was going home," she reiterated with a disconcerted look that matched his.

"Your house is this way," he blatantly stated, pointing down one of the other streets and all at once realisation dawned on her.

Firstly, Tenten felt somewhat flattered that even after all these years he still remembered the way to her old apartment. She felt a small blush adorn her cheeks at the sentiment and she tried to ignore the fact that her heartbeat had gotten a few paces quicker than usual. Secondly, it was clear that Neji had absolutely no idea that she had been living with Shikamaru.

To be honest, Tenten couldn't fathom how Neji couldn't have known. It was the talk of the town for months when it first began, and even if he wasn't a fan of town gossip, he would've at least heard of it from Hinata or Ino. But apparently not. And now the weapons mistress was stuck in a very uncomfortable situation.

How on earth was she supposed to say that she'd been living with another man for nearly three years without sounding like a total whore? And how was she supposed to explain that it was…well…Shikamaru? The last time she and Neji were together the both of then barely realised that the shadow user even existed.

"Oh," she started, fumbling for words, "Yes…well I…got evicted from my old house…couldn't afford to pay the rent, you know. So I moved elsewhere."

It wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. But then again Tenten doubted that Neji needed to know the whole story anyway. It would save a lot of questions and awkward explanations on her part, and with her relationship with Neji as delicate as it was, it was better for putting this off for some time later down the track when they had a more solid foundation.

When he didn't reply Tenten took the opportunity to say, "Look, I really need to get home. I left food out on the stove; I should probably check that the house hasn't burnt down by now."

She let out a nervous laugh at her lie and she watched as Neji pondered before saying almost absently, "I suppose I'll have to come visit your new place sometime."

"Oh…yeah," she responded skittishly. "Of course. Anyway, I guess I'll see you in a couple of days when Gaara arrives. And I'm glad we could sort things out…kind of."

Neji simply nodded in affirmation and replied, "Me too."

"See you, Neji."

"Bye, Tenten."

And the two shinobi headed their separate ways home. Tenten heaved a huge sigh once the Hyuga prodigy was well out of sight. What an emotionally draining day it had become. But it wasn't over yet; for when she returned home, she had some serious ass kicking to attend to.

-X-

A/N – Don't kill me! This took me so long to write, man I was struggling. I really hope things with Neji and Tenten didn't feel too rushed with them sort of making up. I did want that part at the beginning of the story though because the rest will be about the journey from their regained friendship to, hopefully, their blossoming love. We shall see. Anyway let me know what you thought of this chapter, critiques and compliments are always welcome! Don't forget to fav and follow!


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N – Ok, here we go with another chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/followed/favourited this story! It really means a lot to me and I'm so happy I can create content you guys love. I hope you enjoy this chapter and of course, let me know what you think at the end!"**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto!**_

-X-

"You complete _ASSHOLE_, Shikamaru Nara!"

The moment that Tenten made her arrival home known, Shikamaru knew it meant that he had about five seconds before he had to start running for his life. He had anticipated this; he had mapped out every single escape route out of the house, possible hiding places to lay low for a while and multiple ways to cover his tracks so the seething brunette wouldn't be able to hunt him down.

What he didn't anticipate however, was his slow response to Tenten's sharp reflexes which had been honed from being a former member of the fastest team to ever emerge from Konoha. As soon as the door burst open, he found himself pinned by the arms and legs to the nearby living room wall by numerous kunai and an incredibly angry Tenten storming inside.

"You really are a son of a bitch, you know that?" she snarled, now right up in the Nara prodigies face.

Had he have not had to put up with Ino's vexed outbursts over the years, or Temari's tantrums when they were still together, Shikamaru might have actually cowered under Tenten's livid scowl.

Instead, he yawned ever so casually and said, "You know, these kunai are going to leave marks on the wall and I'm for sure not paying to repair the damage."

"Spare me your bullshit," the weapons mistress hissed venomously. "Me and Neji? _Seriously_, Shikamaru? What the hell were you thinking?"

"Well, I was thinking that I really didn't want to have to escort my troublesome ex and her two brothers around the village for days on end and that it would be far less of a drag if you and Hyuga did it instead," he replied easily.

"Less of a drag for _you_, you mean," Tenten huffed accusingly as she poked a finger to his chest.

"That's how the mind of a genius works."

"I never knew you to be such a schemer."

"I'm not Konoha's top strategist for nothing."

"More like Konoha's top, laziest and cowardly asshole," the brunette jeered before crossing her arms indignantly. "What kind of a friend are you, throwing me under the bus like that when this should've been _your_ job?"

Shikamaru raised a single eyebrow in amusement at her expression before answering, "The kind of friend that wants you to tie up loose ends with your teammate because he cares about you."

Tenten could feel her eyes roll right around the back of her head before they refocused on Shikamaru's trapped figure. He was making no attempt to free himself and the fact that her glare seemed to have no effect on him made his face seem all the more punchable.

"Right," she drawled, sarcasm oozing through her tone, "because throwing me right in the deep end really shows that you care about me."

"You never would've spoken to him otherwise," he paused before enquiring, "you did speak to him, didn't you?"

Tenten flushed in surprise at his sudden inquisition and answered almost stutteringly, "I…yes, I did."

"And how'd it go?"

"It went…fine," was all she could manage as she thought back to her conversation with Neji.

She was still trying to comprehend that it had actually happened, and though she didn't know where her relationship with Neji sat at the present time, at least he was talking to her, right? Things could've turned out a whole lot worse.

The bun-haired girl shook her head and refocused her attention on the shadow user pinned in front of her. He looked expectant, as if waiting for more details so Tenten just offered, "We're on speaking terms."

"Then I don't know why you're so angry at me," Shikamaru spoke, knowing full well why she was still mad at him. "I just saved your friendship. You're welcome."

"Don't you play dumb," Tenten rounded on him, "It doesn't suit you. Besides, I wouldn't even call me and Neji 'friends' yet – more like acquaintances for the time being. Also, don't pretend like you did this for me – we both know you only did it to avoid Temari."

"Again, that's how the mind of a genius works; I kill two birds with one stone," Shikamaru smirked despite the soreness beginning to tire his limbs. "I get to elude my scary ex-girlfriend and you get to repair your friendship with Neji."

"It's not that simple and you know it."

"Yes it is," he replied nonchalantly and continued, "You're just behaving like any typical female and over analysing everything before anything even happens. If you want things to work out between you and Hyuga then you need to stop anticipating the worst case scenario and just live in the present. Build a solid foundation, mend your friendship and then make sweet, sweet love to him, get married, have lots of annoying little brats and live happily ever after. The end."

"I do _not_ want make sweet, sweet love to Neji!" Tenten burst out defensively, her face now flushed a cherry red. "Nor do I want to get married and have kids! I don't love him or barely even like him or whatever it is you're alluding to! Besides, he's getting married anyway so me and him are never going to happen."

The Nara prodigy raised a delicate eyebrow at her last sentence and said, "Neji's getting married? I didn't think the Hyuga clan still practiced arranged marriages."

"Well, they do." Tenten said hotly. "So you can get over your stupid little matchmaking scheming cause it's never going to work."

"Whatever you say, Tenten," Shikamaru dismissed her miffed expression with a knowingly smile. "I say though, do you think you can let me down from here? My blood flow is being cut off."

"After that comment?" Tenten began, raising an incredulous eyebrow before whipping around so her back was facing him, "No. Also, _you're_ the one cooking dinner tonight after everything you pulled today."

And with that, the brunette stalked off leaving the Nara prodigy still pinned to the wall. The man just sighed and slightly shook his head before muttering, "Troublesome."

-X-

The first thing Neji did when he reached the Hyuga compound was collapse onto his bed. He felt exhausted and he pinched the bridge of his nose with two slender fingers to help stop the throbbing headache that began to settle in. What a tiresome day it had turned out to be. The last thing he had expected was to be paired up on some mission with his former female teammate that he had neglected to speak to in years.

It was strange, seeing Tenten after so long. They hadn't exactly left on good terms and he knew he was partially to blame, but it wasn't really his fault that after his promotion to Jounin and then ANBU that it left him little to no time to see his teammates. His missions were much longer and more gruelling and on his exceedingly rare day off, he often found himself wanting alone time; mostly to sleep or recuperate. He also had the amounting pressure to meet certain expectations that the Hyuga clan maintained for him. He was regarded as their prodigy and they expected him to do great things. It was stressful and overwhelming and Neji found himself struggling to keep up with his missions, seeing his teammates, upholding Hyuga honour and keeping true to his dreams and aspirations.

So when Lee and Tenten had both confronted him, he felt himself snap – whether from exhaustion, strain, trepidation or just because he knew what they were saying was true, Neji didn't know. He'd had enough. He was sick and tired of keeping up with everyone's demands and so he had said hurtful things he didn't really mean and that afternoon, he requested his removal from Team Gai in hopes it would relieve some of the pressure he felt.

It didn't.

Instead, guilt seemed to settle all too comfortably in the pit of his stomach. He didn't speak to his former teammates – he didn't want to. For the first couple of weeks, Lee would find him and beg him with wide, pleading eyes to come back to the team and always, Neji rebuffed him. Soon later, Lee stopped trying. He barely saw any of them after that. At first, it was uncomfortable but Neji learned to push the guilt away and focused all his time and energy into achieving his dreams.

"Neji?" a small voice and a knock on the door snapped him out of his reverie.

He propped himself up onto his elbows and ran a weary hand through his hair.

"What is it, Hinata?" he murmured and shy Hyuga heiress cracked the door open ever so slightly.

"Sorry to disturb you," she said lingering in the doorway. "But Father wants to see you."

Neji let out a small sigh and pushed himself up so he was sitting on the end of the bed. By the look on Hinata's face he knew exactly what Hiashi wanted to talk to him about. He had been avoiding his uncle for weeks now, but it now seemed like the time has come.

"Alright," he said, "I'll be right there."

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed a sweater and pulled it over his head.

"You could always refuse," he heard Hinata speak up in a sympathetic voice.

"And where would that get me?" he asked monotonously.

"I know you don't want to do this; I don't want it for you either."

"It seems like you're the only one."

"Father is considerate towards you," Hinata told him, "He knows how much you value your freedom. Arranged marriages are such an outdated tradition, I don't know why the elders still carry it out."

Her tone was slightly bitter and Neji understood why. She and Naruto were to be wed quite soon, however, she had to fight tooth and nail to get out of the arranged marriage the clan had previously set up for her in order to be with the Kyubi boy. If it wasn't for the fact that Naruto had become the main prospect for becoming Konoha's next Hokage, Neji seriously doubted that the clan would've allowed his and Hinata's marriage to take place.

"You were lucky, that's all," Neji told her with a small shake of his head. "Plus, you're in line to take over the head of the clan soon and you have uncles' favour whereas I'm still from the side branch of the family. Everything I've ever done, I did it for the clan. At the very least I get to cut out the hassle of having to find someone to court. The clan picks out worthy candidates to be my bride and I select among them. There's freedom in that."

Hinata gave him a sad smile. She had noticed that ever since Neji had left his team all those years ago, he had become a different person. There was no spark in his eyes anymore, no sense of stability or happiness. Instead, it seemed as though he had reverted back into his old self, distant and fatalistic. He seemed to have lost the joy that gave his life meaning and whether Neji wanted to admit it or not, that joy stemmed from his former teammates.

"Everyone deserves to find love," Hinata stated as Neji stood up and brushed past her. "That includes you too, cousin."

He paused and tilted his head to the side ever so slightly and replied, "Maybe I just wasn't meant to find love."

With that, he strode off down the corridor and disappeared into the shadows.

-X-

"Come in."

At the sound of Hiashi's voice, Neji opened the door and stepped inside.

"You wished to see me," he said, and the older man simply nodded.

"Thank you for coming," Hiashi replied and gestured for Neji to sit down.

The Hyuga prodigy took a few steps forwards before taking a seat on the mat that lay in front of him and crossing his legs.

"I'm sure you know why I've called you here," his uncle began, his voice deep.

"Yes, sir."

Hiashi nodded at Neji's response and continued, "As you are aware, my nephew, you are soon to be wed. The Hyuga elders have been working arduously in trying to find you a suitable bride and they've managed to find many worthy candidates. We've decided its time for you to choose your bride. Over the next few weeks, we will present to you all the possible options you can choose from. I assure you; they come from noble and wealthy families and are considered honourable women. By the end of the third week, you shall choose who you wish to marry, and an engagement will immediately take place. Is this understood?"

Neji could feel his hands clenching into tight fists and a heavy weight began to sink in his stomach. Even though he knew this talk was coming, it didn't lessen the shock.

However, instead of complying, Neji found himself saying, "I've been assigned a mission."

"I am aware of this," Hiashi responded as if expecting this. "I've already spoken with the Hokage and we will be able to work around the parameters of your mission."

"I see," was all the white-eyed prodigy could manage.

It felt like too much to deal with, at the moment. He was still trying to wrap his head around being assigned the same mission as Tenten and now he also had to worry about meeting future, maybe-fiancés while he was on the job?

Neji didn't know what to expect. He definitely wasn't thrilled at the fact that he was technically being forced to marry a complete stranger, but strangely, he wasn't completely opposed to it either. Like he had said to Hinata, it cut out ninety percent of the hassle he would've had to go through trying to find someone to court. And while he never had any trouble catching the attention of the opposite sex, it was more so the fact that Neji just wasn't amazing at social interaction and intimacy. But confusingly, that made him even more desirable to women.

"You're taking this rather well, Neji," Hiashi spoke up and Neji gave him a questioning look.

"I'm sorry?"

"Well," the head of clan began with a small chuckle, "I expected you to kick up more of a fuss at the prospect of getting married. After all, you've always gone on about creating your own destiny and freedom."

"Tantrums are for children," Neji simply replied. "And freedom still has its consequences. In all honesty, uncle, it saves me a lot of effort and emotional stress and I should be honoured to choose amongst those you have picked for me."

"This is most unbecoming of you," Hiashi remarked, a hint of surprised in his tone. "You would marry one you do not love?"

"Isn't that what's expected of me?" Neji said, and continued, "I don't think I've ever known what it is like to be in love. I suppose I am lucky in the way that I won't know the pain of ever having missed it."

"Love is a beautiful thing, my nephew," the older man murmured. "I had always thought you'd be able to experience it before an arranged marriage took it away."

"Well, I suppose I'll never find out now."

"Do not be so quick to discount it," Hiashi demurred before slowly rising from his position. "Whoever you choose as your bride, even though you won't love her now, you may come to love her very much in the future."

"Yes, uncle."

Hiashi gestured to the door and Neji stood up and made his way across the room. As he laid his hand on the door-knob he heard his uncle say in a low voice, "You know, I always thought you would end up with that teammate of yours – Tenten."

Neji could feel the heat arising in his cheeks as embarrassment began to settle in. He looked up into Hiashi's face, his features relaxed and calm, almost as if what he said was an afterthought. As he contemplated about it, the idea of him and Tenten seemed somewhat ludicrous. She had been his teammate and friend for years until he left the team and now – well, he didn't really know what they were.

From all the time he had known her, she'd never had a boyfriend before, and she just didn't seem like even the dating type unlike Ino, Sakura and even Hinata who was always head over heels whenever Naruto was anywhere in proximity to her. Tenten was more interested in weapons and missions and becoming a splendid kunoichi. That was one of the reasons why Neji admired her.

For a while, there were even rumours of himself and Tenten dating widespread throughout the village. Neji never entertained such rumours and he was never made aware if Tenten harboured such feelings towards him either. Besides, he was more focused on becoming stronger than the concept of love.

Tenten definitely wasn't marriage material and the idea of them getting married, especially after everything that happened between them, was just a bizarre concept that Neji didn't want to think about.

He didn't know what to say after Hiashi's awkward comment, so he simply gave a low bow to the older man and exited the room swiftly. However, he swore he could hear Hiashi's light chuckle as the door swung close.

-X-

_**A/N – Another chapter done and dusted! A little shorter than my previous chapters but I promise I'll make it up to you in the next one! I've got some spicy ideas and I can't wait to share them with you. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and again, feel free to review so I can know your thoughts and feelings. Believe it or not it really helps give me ideas and motivation to keep writing. Thanks to all my loyal supporters out there!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N – Here we go again…Enjoy!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto!**_

-X-

The alarm on her bedside table startled Tenten wide awake. She groggily rolled over in the covers of her bed and pressed the button on her alarm to stop the blaring noise that was assaulting her ears far too early in the morning. She groaned into her pillow, wanting to bury herself deeper beneath the blankets and just relish in its warmth and comfort.

Three days seemed to fly by much more quickly than Tenten had anticipated. She wasn't used to being home for three consecutive days in a row and even though it was nearing Christmas time, the life of a shinobi was always demanding and breaks like these were almost a luxury.

Whenever she wasn't training she spent most of her time at home, cleaning the house or playing go or shogi with Shikamaru. The Nara prodigy himself became more despondent with each passing day to Temari's impending arrival. While he was usually quite lacklustre on a daily basis, his depression just created a sombre atmosphere that affected the whole household. He had even resorted to asking the Hokage herself for any missions he could undertake whilst Temari was here. But Lady Tsunade had nothing for him to do stating that she "couldn't afford to have number one strategist away from the village". Shikamaru had been most unimpressed with her answer.

Deciding it was time to get up, Tenten sighed as she got out of bed, wincing when her bare feet touched the cold floorboards. She quickly made for the shower, hoping to warm herself up before getting changed. She made sure to put on an extra jacket on before twisting her hair into her signature buns and running downstairs for a quick breakfast. She filled a bowl with leftovers from the previous nights dinner and began scoffing it down before she heard Shikamaru scuffle into the kitchen.

"You're up early," Tenten commented between mouthfuls.

"Couldn't really sleep," he replied as he dug through the fridge for the juice carton. "Besides, Ino and Choji want to meet up for breakfast this morning. What a pain."

"I was wondering why you were dressed up," the brunette said. "Where are you guys heading?"

"Ino wants to take us to that new teahouse just down the street."

"Oh, the one that just opened? Ichiriki Chaya?"

"Yeah, that one," Shikamaru nodded as he poured some orange juice into a glass before downing it in two gulps. "It's supposed to be one of those places for couples, you know, she's been there with Sai a couple of times. I don't know why she's bothering to drag me and Choji along with her. Troublesome woman."

"Stop your complaining," Tenten chided him before standing up to put her bowl in the sink. "At least you still get to do team breakfasts with your squad."

"Well, at the very least it'll keep me occupied and out of Temari's way this morning," he yawned, stretching his arms behind his head in a nonchalant manner. "And you'll get some quality time with Hyuga."

The weapons mistress simply rolled her eyes and replied, "Can you _please_ stop with that? He's getting married. Get that into your genius brain of yours."

"And I'm sure Neji is just over the moon at the prospect of getting married," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"He didn't seem too upset when he told me."

"You know that's just his pride and sense of duty coming through. I bet you by the time the wedding comes around, he'll definitely be second guessing himself."

"It doesn't matter anyway because I'm not trying to get with Neji," Tenten countered hotly before securely tying her kunai holster to her leg and making sure she had all of her provisions. "And as much as I'd love to stand around and listen to your little matchmaking schemes, I've got to go."

"Good luck with my ex," was all Shikamaru offered with a lazy flick of his hand and Tenten gave him a sardonic smile before heading outside.

-X-

Neji was already waiting at the front gates of the village when she arrived. He stood impassively, leaning against one of the beams, arms folded, eyes closed. One might've assumed he was resting but Tenten had seen him many a time with that same expression and knew instantly he was meditating.

She inwardly smiled as she remembered back to the many hours they would spend sparring tirelessly before plonking themselves down under the shade of the great oak tree that took residence at their training grounds. It was Tenten's most favourite spot and even regarded the magnificent tree as a part of Team Gai. Whilst the other trees at the training grounds were mere targets for Tenten's lethal weapons and Neji's chakra infused palms, the brunette always made it a rule that the oak tree was never to be touched.

She loved watching it grow and it was a reminder of their teams' growth as well. It was a constant companion and it watched over them every single day for years. However, since Team Gai had disbanded, she'd never bothered to return to that particular spot, for it served as a painful memento of the day she, Lee, Neji and Gai were no more.

Tenten saw Neji's eyes snap open once he had sensed her presence. She gave him a small wave and he responded with a slight nod of his head which did nothing but accentuate his jawline. She noticed he was dressed rather warmly, and she unconsciously pulled her jacket around her body even tighter. It had begun sleeting which indicated that snow wasn't far behind.

"Morning," the weapons mistress greeted him with a slight yawn. "Bit cold, isn't it?"

"It's a good time to train," Neji responded, pushing himself off the beam he was leaning against so he was standing upright. "The body doesn't perspire as much."

"You and your training," Tenten said with a slight shake of her head. "Glad to see that hasn't changed at all."

"It's brought me this far," he said fairly. "Can the same be said for you?"

Tenten knew he didn't mean it in an unkind way. Neji was always a blunt person but she supposed she wasn't used to his coarseness after being away from him for so long, so she heard herself saying, "I'll have you know that I'm a fully qualified _Jounin_ now, Hyuga."

She couldn't keep the sneer out of her voice when she said his last name and Neji's eyes widened ever so slightly at this new piece of information.

"I didn't know you'd been promoted," he admitted calmly. "I suppose it's a little too late to offer my congratulations."

"A year too late," Tenten agreed. "I'm surprised you didn't know. I thought at least Hinata would've said something to you."

"Apparently not. Is there anything else that Hinata knows that should come to my attention?"

Tenten didn't miss the slight joking tone in his voice and fought down a smile. She also fought down the uneasiness welling up inside of her at his comment.

Was the fact that her and Shikamaru living together something that should be brought to Neji's attention? She supposed it wasn't something that he _needed_ to know. But now that they were sort of reacquainted, it was only a matter of time before he would find out, and she much preferred that he hear it from herself rather than one of their rumouring gossiping friends. However, it was just such an awkward thing to just bring up.

_Oh yeah, I've been living with Shikamaru for the past two years. Yes, I know we hardly knew each other before I moved into his house and no we're not dating even though his girlfriend dumped him. We're just good friends, really!_

The bun -haired girl inwardly cringed. Even in her own head it sounded stupid.

"Tenten?"

The sound of Neji's voice seemed to bring her back to reality and she just offered him a meek smile. Now wasn't the time to tell him – she'd bring it up later down the track.

Over Neji's shoulder she could see three figures emerging from the forest and the Hyuga prodigy turned to see what Tenten was staring at. A slight haze had begun to set in but Tenten could make out those silhouettes from anywhere.

Both she and Neji took a few steps forward and dropped into low bows to greet the three Sand Siblings.

"It's been a while, Lord Kazakage, Kankuro, Temari," Tenten addressed them formally before standing up straight and gazing at the new arrivals.

They were dressed even more warmly than her and Neji – layers of jackets piled on top of one another and scarves draped around their necks and wrapped around their heads for warmth. It was understandable as they normally lived in the desert where it was constantly dry and very hot. They were not used to the cold and wet. Tenten doubted that they'd ever seen snow before.

"Lady Fifth informed me that you two would be guarding us," Gaara spoke in his usual monotone voice. "I had much hoped to see you both again."

The brunette could tell that Gaara still hadn't forgotten about the time she, Neji and Lee had saved him during the Chunin Exams all those years ago. She could see his gratitude and respect as he bowed politely towards Neji and then to her.

"Hey there, Tennie! Long time, no see," Kankuro addressed the weapons mistress with a sly smile and wink.

"Who are you calling Tennie, makeup man!" Tenten retaliated hotly – she hated that name.

"It's not makeup, it's Kabuki paint!" Kankuro defended with a slightly pained expression.

Another unexpected friendship that seemed to blossom overtime was that between herself and the puppet master. It all sort of began after (once again) rescuing Gaara from the clutches of the Akatsuki. They found that they had a lot of things in common and even though they rarely ever saw each other, they made a point of trying to annoy the hell out of each other whenever they did.

"Keep calling it what you want," the brunette said. "We all know the real truth."

The older boy just huffed and replied unwisely, "You're just jealous cause I'm more feminine than you are."

Tenten's expression instantly morphed into one of sickly sweet, undeniable murderous intent.

"Are you saying I'm not feminine?" she growled, her hand twitching ever so slightly towards her leg holster.

"Ok, that's enough," Temari cut in curtly as she shouldered her travel bag. "Some of us would actually like to get out of the cold and put our things down instead of listening to you two squabble."

The pair both simmered down quickly enough but Tenten couldn't help but notice the blonde girls' slight animosity towards her. Even though she was good friends with her older brother and even pretty well acquainted with Gaara, Tenten found it much harder to form a relationship with Temari. And though she held no grudge over her brutal defeat from their fight in the first Chunin Exams, there was always a sense of hostility whenever the blonde was around.

"Of course, you must be tired after such a long journey," Neji acknowledged. "We'll show you to your lodgings."

"Actually, I'd much rather eat first," Temari stated. "Is there any place we can get a meal and warm up?"

Tenten felt as if a light bulb had just lit up inside her brain at Temari's comment.

_Karma really is a bitch_, the thought to herself with a slight snigger. She couldn't wait to see Shikamaru's reaction.

"I know the perfect place!" the brunette said with a big grin. "Follow me, there's this great new teahouse that just opened…"

-X-

They were greeted with the fresh scent of sweet tea. A gush of chilly wind wafted through the shop as they walked through the door. It was a cosy little place, decorated with paintings of flowers and exotic scenery. The furnishings were obviously very new and everything was coloured in pinks and reds. It was definitely a place meant for couples, just as Shikamaru had said.

At the very least it was warm and the Sand Siblings began taking off their many layers and placing their jackets on the stands that stood at the front door. Tenten, however, quickly scanned the room and in no time found what she was looking for. She spotted Shikamaru, Choji and Ino sitting in the far left corner next to a large window. Ino was chatting away idly while Choji was scoffing down cakes, Shikamaru just looked bored as he stirred his tea, gazing outside the window. However, he brought his gaze to the front of the shop and instantly locked eyes with Tenten. His expression seemed puzzled at first before his eyes drifted towards the moving bodies behind her.

Tenten swore she'd never seen the colour drain out of anyone's face faster than the Nara prodigy's had just done. She watched delightedly as he physically gulped which caught the attention of Ino who turned to see what her teammate was ogling at. The blonde girl lit up instantly and began waving at them.

"Hey, Tenten! Come over here! Bring everyone and sit with us!" she yelled sitting halfway out of her seat.

Tenten wanted to double over in laughter at the shocked yet dreaded expression that enveloped Shikamaru's face. He caught her eye and gave her a desperate pleading look and the brunette just shook her head with a cunning smile before leading Neji and the others over to Ino's table.

The weapons mistress wasn't quite sure what to expect. But the moment Temari stopped in front of the table and fixed her regard onto Shikamaru who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, her body instantly stiffened and her face hardened. And even though the shop itself was very warm, the air suddenly got a lot colder and all eyes were on the cowering, pineapple-haired man and the stoic, pigtailed blonde.

For a scary moment, Tenten thought Temari was going to pummel Shikamaru into the floor right then and there and she wondered if she'd maybe made the wrong decision. As much as Shikamaru deserved it, she really didn't want the establishment to be destroyed especially because it was so new. Besides, she'd had her fair share of covering the expenses of places Lee had destroyed over the years – she doubted whether she'd be able to pay for this one.

Luckily, Ino jumped in and attempted to defuse the very tense and awkward situation.

"Well, it's good to see you guys," she said addressing the Sand Siblings. "Shikamaru here was just telling us that you guys were planning to stay for a while."

"Did he now?" Temari asked as if to herself in a dangerously low voice.

Her eyes were boring into him and the lazy prodigy hadn't even had the courage to look at her once.

"Well," Ino said rather loudly, pretending to be oblivious to the entire situation, "How about you sit down and we'll grab someone to take your order."

She stood up and began to shuffle everyone around. Soon enough, Tenten found herself squished between Neji and Shikamaru with Choji sitting on the end. She'd noticed that Ino had purposely seated Shikamaru and Temari as far away from each other as possible which was probably a very smart idea. A waiter swiftly arrived, his eyes widened with shock as he noticed Gaara and greeted the Kazekage stutteringly, before jotting down their orders and bustling away to prepare their food.

"So what are you guys doing here anyway?" Ino questioned specifically towards Gaara who seemed slightly uncomfortable at the proximity of the blonde. "I thought you'd all want to be home this close to Christmas time."

"I have some meetings to attend to with the Raikage and the feudal lords of the Kumogakure concerning treaty negotiations," the red-head man simply answered. "Konoha was on the way so we decided it would be wise to spend some time with our allies. We will be spending Christmas here and setting out for the Hidden Cloud once it's over."

"Oh, so like a mini holiday?" Ino chirped. "You're in luck, I reckon it's going to be a white Christmas this year – it's about to snow!"

"I can't stand the wet," Kankuro shuddered slightly. "Or the cold. I might just have coup myself up inside the whole time we're here."

"Why did you even bother coming then?" Ino asked, a slight hint if annoyance in her voice.

"Are you kidding me?" the puppet master demurred. "Who's gonna look after Gaara?"

"Well, if you're guarding Gaara then why are you two here?" Choji questioned pointing at Neji and Tenten and bun-haired girl just rolled her eyes.

"Because Lord Kazakage's bodyguards needs bodyguards," she responded eloquently leaning back in her chair.

"As is we'd ever," Kankuro snorted.

"Either way, they're VIP's and Lady Tsunade has ordered us to be their escorts," Neji intoned. "If anything were to happen to them whilst in the Leaf Village and we had no measures in place to keep them safe, that would reflect very poorly on our village."

"I gotta say," Ino opined, swishing her long hair behind her shoulders, "I'm surprised Lady Fifth put you and Tenten on a mission together. Your team broke up ages ago and I remember you telling me, Tenten, that you hadn't even spoken to Neji since then."

The brunette wanted to whack the blue-eyed girl from across the table but was interrupted by their food arriving. As their plates and cups were being set on the table she felt a slightly forceful nudge from Shikamaru which pushed her into Neji's arm. She managed to catch a whiff of his scent – fresh and sweet and it startled her. She saw him glance down at her at the sudden contact and the weapons mistress quickly sat up, a little flustered and her face slightly red from embarrassment and apologised. She then sent her best death glare at the Nara prodigy who tried shake off the intentional nudge as a by-product of him stretching.

She pulled another unpleasant face and he just shrugged. _Fine_. If he was going to be a jerk, two could play at that game.

"About that," Tenten said in response to Ino's previous statement. "Originally it was supposed to be Shikamaru here who was supposed to take on this mission. However, he managed to talk his way out of it because he's too much of a coward to face you."

At that last part she jerked her head towards Temari who looked slightly gleeful at Shikamaru being called a coward.

"That's a fine description," the wind user taunted, not bothering to look at the lazy shinobi, "_Coward_."

"Can you not?" Shikamaru suddenly shot back and Tenten was surprised to hear him speak at all.

"Why not?" Temari countered, her voice raising a few octaves. "It's all true."

"Not here, Temari."

"What? You just expect me to sit here and pretend nothing happened?"

"Be mature about this, please?"

"Well it's not my fault that things got screwed up!"

"It takes two to tango."

"Ha. Like you ever did anything in our relationship."

"If our relationship was so awful why are you still going on about it?" Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, obviously quite irritated. "You should be happy it's over."

At that comment Temari stood up abruptly, her expression almost livid as she glared at Shikamaru who looked down at his shoes.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she announced loudly before storming off and disappearing behind the crowd.

"Well that was intense," Kankuro said letting out a breath of relief once Temari was out of sight. "I thought she was about to smash you in the face."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Shikamaru replied almost miserably as he sunk lower in his seat. "Women are so troublesome."

"I just think you've got to get better at talking to women," Ino remarked. "I would've thought you'd gotten better at it after living with Tenten these past few years."

Silence engulfed the table and Tenten wanted to reach over and strangle the blonde girl until the life was choked out of her. She saw Shikamaru cover over his face with a hand in complete exasperation and she didn't have the courage to look and see what Neji's reaction was. Her heart was beating a million miles per hour.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Kankuro asked incredulously as though he misheard what she'd said.

"Didn't you know?" Ino said innocently. "Tenten's been living at Shika's house for a couple of years now. Long story but it was the talk of the town when it happened."

_Shut up, Ino. _Was all Tenten could think as she clenched her hands into fists under the table. She was now seriously regretting bringing them here and wanted nothing more than to sink into her chair and disappear.

"I had no idea," the puppet master said almost in and awed state and then he rounded on brunette and shadow user. "So you guys dating then? That'll make Temari real happy."

But before either other one could say anything, Ino burst out in laughter and replied for them, "Oh, the dirty little rumours and stories I've heard about these two…! You'll be even more surprised when you hear –"

"Ok, Ino, that's enough!" Shikamaru cut across her with a warning look and the blue-eyed girl seemed to calm down before reading the atmosphere of the table.

She glanced at Neji and her eyes became very round before realisation seemed to sink in, her cheeks flushed a dark pink before she turned to her left and began striking up a random conversation with Gaara who very much seemed like he wanted to leave.

Tenten, on the other hand began sipping her steaming tea and waffling down her cake almost as fast as Choji to avoid talking to anyone. She knew her face was probably all red and she wanted to kill Ino for her carelessness. Once in a while she wished that the blonde would learn to just stop running her mouth.

She wondered if Neji thought lowly of her now. Would he be angry? Indifferent? Jealous? Tenten mentally shook her head at that last thought. There was no way Neji would be jealous. There was no way he'd ever think of her romantically, they were still barely friends and he was getting married.

After a few minutes of watching Ino try to engage Gaara in conversation before giving up and chiding Choji for eating everyone's food, Temari returned to the table without a single glance at the lazy prodigy and proclaimed it was time to leave.

"See you when you get home," Shikamaru mumbled at Tenten who just nodded before waving goodbye.

Ino gave her a sheepish look and the weapons mistress returned a forgiving smile but with a promise of a serious talk. Choji seemed to be the only happy one as he stashed everyone's leftovers into a carry bag for later on. They all bid Team 10 farewell before paying at the counter, grabbing their coats and facing the cold outside.

It was still sleeting and the temperature was dropping even more, so they decided it was best to head to the hotel and warm up there. It was a silent walk and even the normally talkative Kankuro found he really had nothing to say. Once they'd reached their destination Gaara turned to face the two Leaf shinobi.

"Thank you for escorting us," he said. "But I think we will spend the rest of the day here. It's been a long journey."

He cast a sideward glance at Temari who just huffed indignantly before marching inside without a word.

"You are dismissed for today. I'll see you both here tomorrow," Gaara instructed.

Neji and Tenten both gave a bow before the red-head followed his sisters footsteps inside the complex.

"See you later, you two," Kankuro winked.

But before he could turn around, the brunette swiftly caught his arm, made sure Neji was out of earshot and said, "Are you going to tell Temari about Shikamaru and –"

"She gonna find out sometime," Kankuro shrugged. "Might as well hear it from me."

Tenten frowned slightly but continued, "Just let her know there's nothing going on with me and Shikamaru. I don't want to be put on her hitlist too."

"I've got it all under control," the puppet master told her in a very disbelieving tone.

"Why do I get the feeling you don't?"

"Have some faith in me. Besides, do I really look like I want to cause another Great Shinobi War?"

"You're always one for chaos."

"True, true. Now could you let go of me, my ass is freezing off."

Tenten released him and gave him a slight smile.

"You complain like a girl."

"I've learned from the best," he replied giving her a wink before dodging Tenten's fist and ducking inside laughing.

-X-

"So you and Nara."

Tenten was surprised to hear Neji's voice and spun around to face him. He was just standing, hands in pockets, gazing at the building in front of them.

"What?" she said confusedly.

He glanced down at her, expression unreadable and said, "I didn't know you and Nara were so close."

Tenten could feel her cheeks heating up again and her stomach felt uneasy as she shifted her weight from side to side. Even after all these years she still felt anxious under Neji's penetrating gaze.

"Oh, well…yeah. It's a long story."

"So you are…dating?"

"What? No!" she stammered, waving her arms in front of her face as if that would clear up the misconception.

He raised an eyebrow before turning on his heel and walking away. Tenten took it as an indication to follow and explain. She fell into step with the Hyuga prodigy and looked up into his unfairly handsome face. He looked expecting.

"We got assigned a mission together," she began slowly, trying to file through her memories for it felt like such a long time ago. "We were on the same team. It was just supposed to be a simple recovery mission. We were ambushed on the way home and we managed to defeat the enemy without too much effort. However, Shikamaru didn't actually check to see if he'd killed his opponent and he managed to survive before catching us and attacking me. I got severely injured and I was in the hospital for a couple of months. I almost lost my life. It took even longer for me to be rehabilitated. I told you I was evicted from my old home, right? Well that's why – I wasn't able to go on missions and make money so I couldn't afford to pay my rent. Shikamaru offered for me to stay at his place. I think he felt guilty and responsible for the situation I found myself in. I agreed but it was only supposed to be for a short while until I could afford to rent a new place. But we became really good friends over that period of time. Besides, he and Temari had just broken up (as you saw yourself) so he didn't really have anyone either. So I just never really left."

After she'd finished her explanation, Tenten drew in a deep breath and sighed. Neji's face remained impassive as ever as he took in all the information and Tenten felt almost nervous though she had no idea why.

"I see," was all he said and Tenten felt a slight pang of disappointment settle in her chest.

What was she expecting? She didn't know why but she felt as though she almost…_wanted_ him to be jealous. She shook her head. That was insane.

"What was Ino going on about?" he asked suddenly and Tenten's attention immediately refocused on her former teammate. "Those rumours and stories…?"

"Don't listen to her," Tenten told him rather hastily though she hoped he wouldn't notice, "You know Ino, she just likes to create gossip."

"Hn."

They walked in silence for a few moment before it came time to part ways.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," the bun-haired girl offered.

"Can I see?"

Tenten seemed rather taken aback by his sudden question and responded, "Can you see what – oh!"

The brunette just blinked as she let the realisation sink in before stuttering, "Oh – um…yeah…I suppose?"

So he followed her down the street, still unspeaking and it was during times like these that Tenten really wished she knew what the Hyuga prodigy was thinking. After another five minutes they found themselves standing outside Shikamaru's house – aka her home – and Tenten spread her arms out, as if in welcoming, and presented, "Well, this is it."

It definitely wasn't a shabby house but compared to the Hyuga manor it was relatively plain.

"I thought there was an estate where the Nara clan resides," Neji inquired as he analysed the house.

"Yeah, they do," Tenten said. "However, he told me sick of his mums nagging and so he bought himself a place of his own. You know Shikamaru, he likes his peace and solitude."

"If you need a place to stay, I can always help you out," Neji turned to her, his expression serious.

Tenten gave him a confused look and said, "What, as in like…_rent_ me a place?"

"Something along the lines of that," the white-eyed prodigy answered with a slight smirk.

"What? No, Neji!" the weapons mistress burst out, flustered at his offer. "There's no way I'd ever take your money for a reason such as that. Besides, I've got money of my own – I could comfortably rent my own place."

"Then why don't you?" he asked and Tenten thought she could detect a slight hardness in his tone.

"Cause I'm happy here," she confessed nonchalantly, "Besides, I don't think Shikamaru would know how to survive without me looking out for him anyway."

She grinned at the thought and looked Neji who seemed lost in his thoughts.

"Are you sure?" he queried after a long moment, eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure. I'll move out eventually but for now, everything's as it's supposed to be."

"If that's how you see it," Neji murmured. "I'll be heading home now. I'll see you tomorrow."

And without another word, he leapt up onto one the roofs and disappeared into the morning haze.

-X-

_**A/N – So a bit of a longer chapter guys and Neji finally finds out that Tenten is Living with Shika! I know we really didn't get to see Neji's true reaction towards this little bit of info but we will see it next chapter. However, I dropped a few hints into how he's sort of feeling if you can guess what it is. I hope this wasn't an awful chapter. I know I didn't do much with the Sand siblings but they'll get a little more time as the story goes on. I know some of you really want some Temari and Shika action happening and it will, don't worry! However I am going to keep it to a minimum cause remember it is a NejiTen story! Again let me know what you think, review, follow and favourite. Thanks so much for all your support. Love you all dearly!**_


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